Message from Senator Frances Fitzgerald

Senator Frances Fitzgerald has contacted us to assure us of her continued support in opposing the applictation to build the incinerator. As Fine Gael Senate Leader and Spokesperson for Health she is particularly concerned at the health implications for residents of Rathcoole, Saggart, Newcaste, Lucan and Clondalkin and the wider area. Sen. Fitzgerald has been very active since against the proposed incinerator and has personally asked questions in the Senate and arranged for the Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny TD, to ask additional questions in the Dáil about the matter. In her Senate speech Sen Fitzgerald made a very strong point about the inappropriateness of giving an incinerator exemption in the planning process:

"The question of what is considered essential infrastructure must be answered by the Government. Legislation on strategic infrastructure was introduced under which certain applications have planning exemptions. If waste incineration is not a priority for the Government how come this went directly to An Bord Pleanála, by-passed the local authority and was fast-tracked in a matter of weeks? This raises legitimate questions on the Government's policy in this area. The constituents and communities in Rathcoole, Newcastle and Saggart, who will be heavily impacted by the proposed incinerator if it goes ahead, deserve to know the answers. If the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is meant to have a hands-off approach to essential infrastructure and the planning process, why did he meet developers at the same time the project was given exempted status as strategic infrastructure? A conflict of interest exists. I hope the Minister of State, in the absence of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, will be able to answer some of the questions I raised. It is time for the Minister to remove the confusion and state clearly and categorically his position on incineration and whether the Government supports the location of incinerators in Rathcoole, Meath, Poolbeg and throughout the country. If the Government does not support this, what is its policy and what will it do to stop it? I thank the Cathaoirleach for providing me with the opportunity to raise this important matter."

As Minister Gormley was attending an EU meeting, Minister of State, Deputy Sean Haughey, resonded but dealt mainly with incineration generally and avoided this specific case which is of huge concern to us:

Many of the questions raised by the Senator will have to answered by the Minister directly as they are outside the scope of the matter under discussion. I shall take the opportunity to set out the progress already being made in delivery of the many commitments on waste management in the Government's policy programme...